We reported back in March that the RAM inside the new iPad is 1GB DRAM comprised of two 4GB Elpida LP DDR2 parts.
Now DigiTimes has reported, citing industry sources, that Apple has placed large orders for DRAM with Elpida. The orders apparently account for half the Elpida's total chip production at its Hiroshima, Japan plant.
It is claimed that Samsung lost $10 billion of its market value following news that Apple switched suppliers. Wednesday's decline was the biggest daily fall in nearly four years for Samsung.
"It looks like Apple doesn't want to see Samsung and hynix dominate the chip market. Apple wants to maintain its bargaining power by keeping Elpida running," LIG Investment & Securities analyst Choi Do-yeon told .
Citing lower-than-anticipated sales memory supplier Elpida is currently seeking a $1.2 billion lifeline from the Japanese government.
Micron Technology Corp, reported to be talks to acquire Elpida's business, saw its stock rise on the report that Elpida had secured Apple's contract.
To make matters worse for Samsung, Apple has won an appeal in its patent battle with Samsung, taking it closer to an injunction on Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1. The court had initially rules against Apple's claims, but the appeals court disagreed with the earlier ruling that the patent in question should not have been granted to Apple, reports .
Apple and Samsung are currently locked in a dispute over patent infringement in dozens of countries around the world, with Apple claiming that Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 infringes on several patents it owns.
On 1 May, Apple filed a motion alleging that Samsung it was obligated to hand over as part of the discovery process, an act referred to as "spoilation of evidence" in the legal parlance.
in the ongoing patent lawsuit between the two , according to court documents.
Last year we reported claims that Apple had turned away from Samsung for the manufacture of its iOS processor chips. We reported that for Apple.
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